Movable screen for eaves troughs



July 1, 1958 c. H. MOLLER 2,841,100

MOVABLE SCREEN FOR EAVES TROUGHS Filed Dec. 1. 1954 IN VEN TOR.

+EE1 4 Carl H. Mo/[er ATTO NEY United States atent O MOVABLE SCREEN FOREAV ES TROUGHS Carl H. Muller, Miami, Fla., assignor to ChristineMuller, Miami, Fla.

Application December 1, 1954, Serial No. 472,273

1 Claim. (Cl. 108-30) This invention relates to screen attachments foreaves troughs and more particularly to a screen attachment that may bemoved to clear debris therefrom.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a movablescreen for an eave trough.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an elongatedsection of screen for covering an eave trough and means hinging thescreen to the eave trough and biasing the same thereagainst.

A still further object of the invention is the provission of a movablescreen for an eave trough with means facilitating moving it to aposition away from the cave trough.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of amovablescreen for eaves troughs and incorporating a section of screenmaterial having a rigid longitudinal edge and a plurality of combinationhinge fasteners engaged thereon for positioning the said movable screenon the eave trough.

The screen for an eave trough disclosed herein comprises an improvementin the art in that the section of screen is secured to the cave troughin a manner permitting it to be moved with respect thereto as by ahinging action based on the fasteners securing it to the eave trough andthereby permitting it to be moved from a substantially horizontalposition over the eave trough to a vertical position away from the eavetrough whereby debris on the screen or in the eave trough may be readilyremoved.

The improvement in a screen for an eave trough disclosed herein alsoincludes a projecting member to which a hook on a pole may be attachedso that the screen on the eave trough may be moved from a remotelocation.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being the intention to cover all changes andmodifications of the examples of the invention herein chosen forpurposes of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from thespirit and scope of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view ofa portion of a building with an eavetrough thereon and showing a section of movable screen in positionthereon.

Figure 2 is an enlarged end view of the screen and cave trough shown inFigure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged end view of the screen and cave trough shown inFigures 1 and 2 and illustrating an alternate position to the screen.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a modified spring fastener forsecuring the screen section to an eave trough.

By referring to the drawings and Figures 1, 2 and 3 in particular itwill be seen that a building, generally indicated by the numeral 10, hasa roof 11 and is provided with an eave trough 12 beneath the dependingportion of the roof 11. The eave trough 12 is of conventional size andshape and includes a rolled edge 13 along the front side thereof. Asection of protective screen material 14 which is elongated and ofrelatively narrow width is divided at its forward edge with alongitudinally extending rod 15 about which a plurality of semi-U shapedfasteners 16-16 are positioned so as to secure the rod 15 in pivotalrelation thereto. Each of the semi- U shaped fasteners 16 is clippedover the rolled edge 13 of the cave trough 12 with an inner dependingarm 16A lying within the eave trough 12 and an outer depending arm 1613being positioned against the outer surface of the cave trough 12 andbelow the rolled edge 13 thereof. Each of the semi-U shaped fasteners 16has an eyeleted outermost end section engaged over the rod 15 of thescreen 14 and adjacent thereto an enlarged area for registry over therolled edge 13 of the eave trough 12.

Intermediate the ends of the section of screen material 14 there is aprojecting arm 17 which extends outwardly of the edge of the screenmaterial 14 and beyond the rolled edge 13 of the eave trough and formsmeans on which a hook may be engaged, as illustrated in Figure 3 of thedrawings, so that the section of screen material 14 may be pivoted onthe fasteners 16 and moved from substantially horizontal position, asshown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, to a substantially verticalposition, as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings.

In order that the section of screen material 14 will normally beretained in substantially horizontal relation to the eave trough 12, aspring member 18 is ribbed spirally about the rod 15 in the areaadjacent the arm 17 with an end 18A engaging the outer surface of therolled edge 13 of the eave trough 12 and an end 18B engaged upon theupper surface of the screen material 14 and, more particularly, on ametal band 19 positioned across the spaced inner portions of the arm 17.

It will occur to those skilled in the art that when the eave trough 12is located in substantially spaced relation to the roof 11, the screenmaterial 14 will rest completely on the eave trough 12 and bridge theupper open surface thereof and it will operate in the mannerhereinbefore described.

A modification in the formation of the fasteners 16, heretofore referredto, may be incorporated in the structure without departing from thespirit thereof and by referring to Figure 4 of the drawings such amodified structure may be seen to comprise a section of screen material20 having a rigid rod 21 in a longitudinal edge thereof and acombination spring and fastener 22 pivoted about the rod 21 and adaptedto be engaged over the forward edge of an eave trough (not shown).

It will be observed that the spring fastener 22 is of semi-U shapedformation having an inner arm 22A, an outer arm 2213, the end of whichis turned upwardly and inwardly as at 23 so that when the inner andouter arm portions 22A and 22B are secured on the respective inner andouter surfaces of an eave trough and thereby held in fixed position, theend 23 will act as a spring urging the section of screen material 20into the position shown in Figure 4 of the drawings.

It will thus be seen that an improved screen for eaves troughs has beendisclosed herein and which improvement meets the several objects of theinvention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

A screen for an eave trough having a longitudinally extending rollededge, said screen comprising an elongated section of screen materialhaving a rod positioned in one longitudinal edge and rendering saidsection of screen material rigid longitudinally, a U-shaped armpositioned transversely of said section of screen material, the ends ofsaid U-shaped arm hooked over the opposite edge of said screen materialwith respect to the edge in which said rod is positioned, the base ofsaid U-shaped arm extending outwardly beyond said rod, and a pluralityof inverted substantially U-shaped spring fasteners each of which has aneyelet thereon pivotally engaged about said rod in said longitudinaledge of said section of screen material and having depending armportions adapted to be engaged over the rolled edge of said eave troughin self-retaining relation thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

